[1] Langley coined the name "Aerodrome" and applied it to a series of engine-driven unmanned and manned tandem wing aircraft that were built under his supervision by Smithsonian staff in the 1890s and early 1900s.

Instead, the Board of Ordnance and Fortification of the U.S. Department of War acted on the recommendation and made $50,000 in grants to the Smithsonian for construction of a full-scale man-carrying version.

Langley's technical team also built a gasoline-powered quarter-scale unmanned model, which flew successfully twice on June 18, 1901, and again with an improved engine on August 8, 1903.

At the Smithsonian's instigation, Glenn Curtiss extensively modified the Aerodrome in an attempt to bypass the Wright brothers' patent on aircraft and to vindicate Langley.

Orville backed up his protest by refusing to donate the original 1903 Wright Flyer to the Smithsonian, instead loaning it to the extensive collections of the Science Museum of London in 1928.

The dispute finally ended in 1942 when the Smithsonian published details of the Curtiss modifications to the Aerodrome and recanted its claims for the aircraft.

Photos of a bit of daylight beneath the pontoons taken at an additional test conducted closer to shore a few days later were published by the media.

5, the first Langley heavier-than-air craft to fly, is on display at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Aerodrome No.

The man-carrying Aerodrome survived after being rebuilt and tested by Curtiss and was converted back to Langley's original 1903 configuration by Smithsonian staff.